Arabs Attack Jew in Jerusalem

Dozens of Arabs attacked a Jew at Kever Shmuel HaNavi on Motzei Shabbat.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 8/23/2010, 1:01 AM / Last Update: 8/23/2010, 12:57 AM

Flash 90

Dozens of Arabs attacked a Jew on Motzei Shabbat at Kever Shmuel HaNavi (the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet), which is situated on the north-western outskirts of Jerusalem. The site is located just a few minutes from Jerusalem’s Ramot Aleph through Vav neighborhoods and is home to a Kollel (a school for studying of the Talmud and rabbinic literature).

Binyamin Friedman, who heads the Ne’eman Shmuel HaNavi association, told Arutz7 on Sunday that the attack occurred as a result of the Ramadan prayers and fasting, which are the cause of increased tensions in the tombstone site, which is common to all three religions.

Friedman noted that Kever Shmuel HaNavi is generally a safe area and that Saturday night’s incident is very unusual. “A large Jewish presence in the area will prevent such incidents from occurring in the future,” he said.

Kever Shmuel HaNavi is considered one of the holiest places in Israel. It is a long-standing Jewish practice to pray and study at the site, and especially on the 28th day of Iyar, the anniversary of the Prophet Samuel's death.

Samuel is one of the Jewish people's greatest prophets. He was the prophet who anointed King Saul as Israel’s first king, and subsequently also anointed King David, the founder of Jewish Jerusalem. Samuel wrote the biblical books of Judges, Samuel, and the Scroll of Ruth which is traditionally read aloud on Shavuot. The site of his tomb is considered to be a place in which relative quiet is kept between Jews and Muslims.

Archaeological excavations on the site of Samuel’s Tomb have found remnants dating back as far as the period of the First Temple. The Crusaders called the place "Mount Joy", since it was the first point on the route of pilgrims from which Jerusalem could be seen. During the period of the reign of the Mamluks, Jews purchased the site and built in it a synagogue. Arabs later took over the area and turned it into a mosque.